Over 1.68 lakh killed in road accidents in 2022, maximum deaths in 18-60 age bracket | India News
The findings were published by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry in its annual report. (Representational image | Source: PTI)
New Delhi: India’s working age group of 18-60 were the biggest victims of road accidents in India, accounting for a massive 84.4 per cent of the total 1.68 lakh fatalities in 2022, whereas Uttar Pradesh topped the states recording the number of deaths with shocking 22,595 in the same year, an annual report by the government has stated.
The shocking statistics were revealed in the ‘Road Accidents in India – 2022′ released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways which attributed over-speeding as the biggest reason with a 71.2 per cent share in the total 1.6 lakh deaths and over 4 lakh injuries in road mishaps in the year 2022. Driving on the wrong side of the road was the second biggest killer on Indian roads with 67,000 deaths which amounted to 5.4 per cent of the total casualties.
Total road accidents reported in 2002
A shocking 4,61,312 road accidents were reported in the year by the police in Indian states and Union Territories which killed 1,68,491 people and left 4,43,366 injured. Of these accidents, 1,51,997 which amounts to 32.9 per cent took place on national highways including expressways, 1,06,682 on state highways (SH) and the remaining
were on other roads. In terms of fatalities, the number on national highways was 61,038, while the figure was 41,012 on state highways. 66,441 of the deaths were reported on other roads in the country.
Working age group is the biggest victim
The report stated that the age groups of 18-45 accounted for 66.5 per cent of total accident deaths in 2022. Whereas, the working age group of 18-60 accounted for 83.4 per cent of total deaths in road accidents in the same year.
“Road accident victims largely comprised young people in the productive age underscoring major implication on socio-economic cost of the nation, apart from their emotional and psychological impact on family, society and nation,” it said.
UP records maximum deaths, Tamil Nadu tops number of accidents
The state of Uttar Pradesh remained the highest in recording fatalities for the fifth consecutive year with 22,595 deaths followed by 17,884 in Tamil Nadu. The southern state topped in the number of road accidents with 64,105 accidents followed by Madhya Pradesh which recorded 54,432 mishaps.
Fatalities in Tamil Nadu came second with the loss of 17,884 lives among the states. The number of deaths in UP accounted for 13.9 per cent and Tamil Nadu’s share stood at 10.6 per cent in terms of the total deaths recorded in the country due to road accidents.
462 deaths every day on average
The report also revealed a scary average from the total numbers. The number of road accidents in 2022 was 11.9 per cent higher than in 2021 and similarly, the number of fatalities and injuries in road accidents also increased by 9.4 and 15.3 per cent respectively. The numbers make for an average of 1,264 accidents and 462 deaths every day or 53 accidents and 19 deaths every hour.
